By Megan Maharry
Sports Editor
Michael Seth Cudd is in his first year of directing the bands at Northwestern.
Previously, he taught middle and high school band for several years before going to graduate school.
He then worked on his PhD in New Jersey where he taught elementary music and beginning band at the school he was receiving his PhD from.
Cudd moved back to Oklahoma to teach in Bethany before coming to NWOSU. When Cudd got to NWOSU, he said he felt he had really good students. When he arrived during the summer, he said the students were already here to help him get ready for marching band season.“They were already ready,” Cudd said. “They wanted it just as much as I did.”
Cudd said some of the great things about the year have been the band’s high moments. He said he felt his students did well during marching season.
He said the concert was great. He added that his students are playing very well right now and have worked hard.
“I just feel like we continue to move forward,” Cudd said. “And I feel like where we are right now is the climax for the whole year.”
Cudd and his students practice four times a week to get the pieces just right. He said he picks music he believes will challenge his students. He also said he wants the music to be fun to play and listen to.
“Overall, our concert is just really energetic,” Cudd said. “The students have had a lot of fun working on the music as well. But it’s also not easy, it’s really difficult music.”
Cudd said he and his wife really enjoy being in Alva and the community, especially since they both grew up in small towns. He said it was nice to get away from the city life.
The Northwestern Ranger Band performed their “Into the Storm“ concert on March 10 in the Herod Hall auditorium.
Both the jazz and symphony band performed a wide variety of selections. The jazz band played Blue’s music as well as some rock pieces.
The percussion ensemble also performed a piece Cudd had written himself titled “Paradigm Shift.” The symphony band played several different songs as well, both slow and more up-beat. Cudd said marching band mostly plays pop music. He said the style is different than other bands. Since the marching band plays and marches at football and basketball games, the music for concert band is a much more refined style of music.
He said concert band plays music by well-known musicians and must carefully play each piece.
Jazz band, as Cudd calls “Big Band,” has a smaller amount of instruments complete with a rhythm section of piano, bass, guitars and drums.
Cudd said some of his students from band will be playing in the upcoming musical Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The last band concert of the year is set for April 30.